A few months ago, on a chilly November day, it happened. What we had been anticipating and dreading. The thing we knew would change our night time routine forever.
Sawyer rolled over.
And while we were proud and excited that our Little Man had hit such a big milestone, we knew one horrible thing to be true:
We had to stop swaddling him at night.
Some of you might be thinking, ‘why is that a big deal? It’ll be an adjustment at first, but he’ll get used to it!’ You don’t know this baby! Sawyer lived in a swaddle the first few days of his life. The only time he cried was when he was unswaddled (he was not a fussy newborn). And while he grew out of that after only a few days, he was still swaddled every night and for every nap. The chances of him sleeping without it were zero. He has a crazy startle reflex and would wake up the second you sat him down if he wasn’t swaddled. On the off chance you did set him in his crib unswaddled, only mere minutes would pass before he startled, and hit himself in the face with his hands, waking himself up.
You don’t technically have to stop swaddling until baby rolls over from back to tummy. At the time, he was only rolling over tummy to back, but we knew back to tummy was only a few weeks behind, so we wanted to get started on transitioning him.
Easy Swaddle Transition with the Zipadee Zip Swaddle
Swaddle transition is no easy task. We tried sleep sacks, but his arms were still free, so he would startle and wake himself up easily. We tried swaddling his legs and leaving his arms out, but we had the same problem. Finally, Kurtis’ cousin suggested a Zipadee Zip swaddle. After reading into it we knew right away we had to try it! As soon as it arrived I loved it based on cuteness alone. That night Sawyer slept the best he had in weeks. It still wasn’t all the way through the night, but definitely an improvement. As time went on and he got used to his new Zipadee Zip swaddle, he started sleeping for longer stretches, and now, I almost feel like a human being again! He’s never been much of a napper, but now he even take successful naps during the day with his Zipadee Zip!
Zipadee Zip works because it’s unique. What sleep sacks lack is a solution the startle reflex. Most babies startle easily (Sawyer especially) and that’s why they sleep better with their arms pinned down. A sleep sack offers nothing to fix this problem when transitioning. The body of the Zipadee Zip swaddle almost looks like a flying squirrel when laid flat. It keeps baby warm and snug inside, and keeps their arms enclosed. However baby still has full range of motion in his arms so if he does roll over in his sleep, he can safely get himself back over if need be. And since baby’s arms and legs are free, they can still be buckled into car seats and strollers easily, something you can’t do with a swaddle or a sleep sack . I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been out when Sawyer has fallen asleep in his car seat, and we had to take him out to swaddle him before setting him in his crib, which would always wake him right up. Now, we can put him in his Zipadee Zip swaddle before we leave, and transfer him gently to his crib when we get home. It also provides a germ free environment while out and about, if you want to keep their little hands from touching too many surfaces.
Here’s a video of Sawyer safely rolling over in his Zipadee Zip swaddle:
Just kidding. It’s a video of him throwing a fit instead. Funny how infants never want to cooperate 😉 Isn’t he cute though?
Here he is actually rolling over. So you can rest assured that your baby can move around safely at night, reducing the risk of accidental suffocation!
We love our Zipadee Zip swaddle and we know you’ll love them too! That’s why we’ve teamed up with Sleeping Baby Inc. to giveaway one Zipadee Zip in the size and color of choice to one of my lucky readers! Give your baby the gift of a good nights sleep and thank me later. Enter below and tell your friends!
Be sure to give them a follow!
How did you handle the swaddle transition? Do you also use a Zipadee Zip swaddle? Comment below!
xoxo.
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